Maurizio Peleggi
I was born in Rome, where I studied classics in high school and graduated from the University "La Sapienza" with a major in Chinese History. After travelling in Thailand, I developed an interest in its history and culture, which led me to pursue further studies at the Australian National University, where I obtained my MA (Asian Studies) in 1994 and PhD in 1998. Since then, I've been teaching in this Department. At present, I teach the courses "Uses of the Past: Memory, Heritage and History", and "A History of East/West Artistic Interactions", as well as the segment on culture and society in "The Making of the Modern World". My research interests focus on Thailand's cultural history and the cultural dimension of modernity in Southeast Asia. My publications include The Politics of Ruins and the Business of Nostalgia (Bangkok: White Lotus, 2002) and Lords of Things: The Fashioning of the Siamese Monarchy's Modern Image (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002). My main passions are cinema, world music, fashion, and travel. The best way to engage me in a conversation is over a cup of REAL espresso--no Seattle imitations accepted!
TEACHING AREAS:
- East-West Artistic Interactions
- Memory, Heritage, and History
- World History
CURRENT RESEARCH:
- Cultural dimension of Southeast Asian Modernity
- Visual and Material Culture
- History and Practice of Heritage Conservation
- Thailand's Cultural History
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:
- Monastery, monument, museum: Sites and artifacts of Thai cultural memory (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2017)
- (Ed.) A sarong for Clio: essays in the intellectual and cultural history of Thailand (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University SEAP Publications, 2015)
- Thailand: The Worldly Kingdom (London: Reaktion, 2007)
- Lords of Things: The Fashioning of the Siamese Monarchy's Modern Image (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002)
- The Politics of Ruins and the Business of Nostalgia (Bangkok: White Lotus, 2002)